Kyra Hurlock used to fidget with her tenor saxophone when she played in her high school’s band.

“There was a lot of sitting while other sections worked … because the tenor parts aren’t super difficult to get down,” she said. “I’d just sit there fiddling with my saxophone, and I thought it was super neat how they worked.”

Hurlock knew she wanted to go into the music industry after high school, but she admitted to not being patient enough to be a teacher nor motivated enough to land gigs and pursue a career as a professional musician. It wasn’t until a tuba player jumped on one of her friend’s saxophones that she knew what she wanted to do.

“I suddenly realized, ‘Oh, somebody has to fix that,'” she said. “I decided I wanted to fix (instruments) so other people can play them.”

Now, at 23, Hurlock is a band instrument repair technician at Music Depot, 2318 17th St. in Greeley – something she’s been doing since she was 19 years old after a year of schooling in Minnesota. She specializes in fixing brass and woodwind instruments, but she can help out with strings when the store needs the extra hands.

A lot of the instruments Hurlock fixes are for local middle and high schools, most of which are in Greeley, but she also helps out with other schools throughout Weld County. She also gets instruments from individual customers, as music repair stores are pretty limited in the northern Colorado area, she said.

On a good day, Hurlock said she can repair up to 10 instruments, but that’s ultimately dependent on the damages that are done to each individual instrument. She always has a full load of work, though. Hurlock has a constant stack of instruments in their cases that fill the space around her desk, waiting for her to fix them. After work, Hurlock also coaches color guard at Platte Valley High School.

Fixing instruments is her passion, and she knows it’s something she can see herself doing for the rest of her life. You can find Hurlock toward the back of the music store at her working desk, tools in hand and cracking a few jokes with her coworkers.

“I get to fidget all day,” she said. “I get to work with my hands, and I get to help other kids be band kids.”

The Tribune recently sat down with Hurlock to further discuss her successful career in Greeley.

Q – What does a typical day at work look like for you?

A – Well… (laughs) I’ll come in and check the store emails to see if there’s anything I need to take care of … then I come over (to my desk) and stare at my pile of (instruments) and try not to freak out at how many things are waiting for me. During the summer, it’s a little different than the winter, because during the summer is when the schools bring in their horns after the kids have all given them back. I’ll start with whatever school brought theirs instruments in earliest and go from there. Then I just kind of pick (an instrument) and go for it. The rest of the time I’ll go to the individual customer horns and figure out which one came in earliest and bust through those. Sometimes, I make deliveries, too.

Q – Do you think it’s important for your generation to get involved in Greeley’s business community?

A – Yes … I think it’s important for us to invest in where we are because the only options for any town is to fail or turn into a big city if we don’t take care of what we got. And I don’t like living in big cities, being stacked on top of everybody. I guess we just need to maintain what we’ve got, which we can’t do if we only order things off the internet and move away to big cities.

Q – Why did you want to start your career in Greeley?

A – Mostly because there are only a few music stores in Colorado, and this is the store I took my saxophone to in high school. There’s a tiny bit of nostalgia, but a lot of necessity. When there’s only two stores hiring repair technicians in Colorado, you’ve gotta’ pick one… There were a lot of little things that made this the right answer.

The general plan is to, at some point, take over, as I’m sure Mark (Payne, owner) wants to retire eventually. I’ve always thought it would be cool to own my own music store but still fix things … as long as I still have time to fix things, I would love to run it.

Q – Do you have any advice folks who are starting in the workforce, specifically in your industry?

A – I’d say don’t be afraid to ask for help, because even in a small profession like mine, there are still hundreds of people in the United States who do it. And with the internet and forums and all kinds of things, there’s always somebody that you can ask.

And don’t feel like your dream is stupid – just do it anyway. I can’t tell you how many times people asked what I was doing after high school, and when I told them I was going to go fix band instruments, they would say ‘Oh…. That’s a thing?” Even from band people. I feel like if I cared more that might have been a little disheartening.

Q – If you were an instrument, which would you be and why?

A – I think I would probably be a tenor saxophone, and not just because it’s the instrument that I played, but as a general rule, it’s a more laid-back instrument, as are the people who play them. They’re very versatile. You can put them in a concert band and they can play stuff with the lower end, like the low brass, but they can play stuff with the higher end, like the trumpets, so they kind of do whatever. They’re super helpful for supporting the other sections, and I think that’s probably what I do.

But they can also do their own thing, and (players can) be like Kenny G and pull out whatever saxophone (they) want and just, like, solo forever.